Oliver has been watching a lot of Christmas classics lately. He loves Frosty, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the Animaniacs Christmas special, but the old movie he loves the most is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Ollie's obsession with Rudolph is actually getting a little out of hand, he watches the old claymation 3-5 times daily, and just received a rather expensive Rudolph doll from Build-A-Bear because they make the front window displays irresistible to children suffering from specific toy addictions.
Despite the financial expense my son's new fandom causes me, I am very happy with his decision. The Rudolph story that this particular movie presents is a thing of Democratic beauty. Oliver learned what the word "independent" means, and the snowman even calls Rudolph's nose a "non-conformity". This version of the Rudolph story isn't just about celebrating uniqueness, but the entrenching of that moral when it faces wide ridicule. Rudolph's father is an image-concerned asshole, and even Santa is a dick, but Rudolph takes a swing at life alone, nose glowing in his dad's intolerant face, a middle finger to the sky.
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When I watch Oliver watch Rudolph, little daydreams brew inside my head of watching Dr. Strangelove with him, or brewing some hot cocoa and discussing Farenheit 451. Maybe I should relax a little and just take the immediate solace in the fact that Oliver at least seems to enjoy a good story more than fancy special effects. That certainly makes me proud on it's own.
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